The NCCR SPIN is organizing a women’s workshop on the 16th May 2025 at the University of Basel. The event will include a full day workshop on public speaking, given by the public speaking coaching company Speak!, and a networking lunch. The workshop will take place in the Pharmazentrum of the University of Basel (Klingelbergstrasse 50) in room 1067. The details of the program are given below.

Tentative schedule (to be refined)

9:30 - 11:00 Workshop Rhetoric and Voice

11:00-11:15 Coffee break

11:15-12:15 Workshop Rhetoric and Voice

12:15-13:30 Lunch at Taverne Johann in Basel

13:30 - 15:30 Workshop Rhetoric and Voice

15:30 - 15:45 Coffee break

15:45 - 17:30 Workshop Rhetoric and Voice

Workshop Rhetoric and voice – The Messenger is the Message

We do most of our work in our heads, in a “quiet room” at the PC. Even if we want to pass on our thoughts to an audience at the end, we sit there and work in silence. No matter how good our thoughts are, no matter how ground-breaking the results, no matter how innovative the ideas: if we don't manage to communicate them to our target audience, then success will still not come.

We claim: “The messenger IS the message!” So the course is about you. You are the messenger. If you feel confident when delivering your message, your audience will feel it. Do you have good reasons to believe in your message? Do you enjoy your message? - Then that will come across.

Rhetoric is the magic word. The key to every performance. If you use rhetoric correctly, it creates charisma. You will be amazed at what changes when you use your voice more consciously. When you give your body more space. When you deliberately speak in structures. When you tell stories in such a way that the audience can immerse themselves in them. There are no limits to creative rhetoric as long as it supports your aim. You want to impress. You want to convince. You don't just want to “come across”, you want to effect change. Rhetoric is a powerful tool for this.

In the seminar, you will learn how to use your body, your voice and your resources. Because: Rhetoric is more than just speaking. You will therefore be in front of the camera several times on this day. The focus is on DOING it yourself.

Aims

• Using your breath more consciously.
• Knowing how to make your voice resonate.
• Recognizing what your inner mood has to do with your voice
• Knowing how to use the power of vocal presence in a performance.

Content

• Taking up space - feeling comfortable “on stage”
• Emphasize what is being said with gestures
• Emphasize important points with pauses
• Structure your gaze to create intimacy
• Create a mood with your voice
• Emphasize the content so that the audience is captivated
• Storytelling: telling stories vividly
• Asking rhetorical questions: Providing structure for yourself and the audience
• Setting titles in your performance: making listening easy
• Speaking in structures: Knowing the end of the speech at the beginning
• Finding your own passion: Why you should love your audience

Each participant brings 1-2 topics to the workshop with which she has to convince others.

Further points

• Individual presentations with video feedback
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Group work

The focus is on DOING yourself. Practical work is in the focus. Each participant has several opportunities to practise, receive feedback and work on their own goals. Wishes are implemented immediately.